HallelujahAl

I was laughing at his crazy dog, chasing that yellow float around the loch, but there was definitely a lone piper playing Battle of the Somme during the Highland games sequence.

I was laughing at his useless attempts at fishing - yet again! The last series he did up in Applecross he never caught a single fish in 6 months! And I can't see him catching one while on the Hebrides. His attempts at integration (ingratiation more like) are also pretty stomach turning. But the dog is great fun to watch and I kind of feel sorry for the guy deep down. I didn't catch the tune they were playing at the games though - shame on me!AL

Did anyone else spot it/hear it on the Monty Halls Hebridean programme on BBC 2 last night? In the Highland games bit?

No - I watched the programme - but was too busy laughing

Yes, definitely "Battle of the Somme" at the start of the hammer throwing. I was out playing at our usual session last night and missed it. Luckily my wife recorded it and I've just watched it. What a great programme! A reminder of last year's holiday on Barra and Harris. Don't be too hard on the guy; he deserves A+ for enthusiasm and good intentions. And aren't those wee pigs just great? I'm definitely recording this series.

Said I was new to this - I maybe have figured out what I did wrong. If so you might get it now, and this http://www.onmvoice.com/play.php?a=19107 which is the same thing on a Hohner Trichord (BCC#) in G. Let me know if you can access them both? BLT.

Just listened to both of your recordings - great stuff. Love the tempo/swing. It actually made me want to dance. All credit to everyone who has recorded stuff they're all Gr8, but I really like these two. FUN FUN FUN

Just listened to both of your recordings - great stuff. Love the tempo/swing. It actually made me want to dance. All credit to everyone who has recorded stuff they're all Gr8, but I really like these two. FUN FUN FUN

Gizza job ? I really enjoyed the last time in Masham - that's when I won this name! BLT.

Wasn't sure about this month's TotM. However, after hearing the other offerings, I had to learn it. And after trying it out, I decided to record. It's a tribute to Pipe Major Lawrie that he was able to compose such a fine tune after bearing the horrors of such a conflict. I hope it is not too out of whack with traditional expectations. Played on the Pistelli 2 row in A/D, one take, a bit of reverb for the mystery of it, and I stayed off of the bass buttons. I am thrilled that I was able to operate the switch on time and rather silently , although I think I reversed the dotted notes a couple of times

Wasn't sure about this month's TotM. However, after hearing the other offerings, I had to learn it. And after trying it out, I decided to record. It's a tribute to Pipe Major Lawrie that he was able to compose such a fine tune after bearing the horrors of such a conflict. I hope it is not too out of whack with traditional expectations. Played on the Pistelli 2 row in A/D, one take, a bit of reverb for the mystery of it, and I stayed off of the bass buttons. I am thrilled that I was able to operate the switch on time and rather silently , although I think I reversed the dotted notes a couple of times

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwvJSw2sWWQ

Very nicely played; a pleasure to listen to. Great picture!

The more I think about this tune, the more I incline towards the possibility that, though named (timewise) after the battle, the tune itself may have been composed before it. Roderick D. Cannon, in his book "The Highland Bagpipe and its Music", in the chapter on "Music in the Army", says:

"It is worth mentioning that there are very many tunes commemorating military events - well-known battles like the Siege of Delhi or the Battle of the Alma, or completely obscure troop movements such as "The 93rd's Welcome to Parkhurst". It should not be thought that these were in any sense commissioned pieces, still less that they were actually played at the time on the march or in the battle; nor yet that "Welcomes" are cheerful tunes and "Farewells" sad ones. It is purely a convention that continues in force to the present day. Pipers compose tunes, and name them after some place or person they know, or after some event in which (usually) they took part. A Pipe Major, however, might be asked to produce a tune in honour of some person or event, and he will often have something recently composed, waiting to be named." (my italics).

As has been observed frequently in this thread, you might expect a tune composed after such an horrendous event as this battle to be a more solemn one. It might well have been a case of "here's one I made earlier", and subsequently given this title. In different circumstances, this same tune might have ended up with a title like "Captain Campbell's Welcome to the Western Front", or "The 8th Argyll's Farewell to Flanders". Pure speculation, I know.

For anyone interested in the Highland bagpipe and all aspects of its music, I'd thoroughly recommend Prof. Cannon's book, available from Amazon. This link has the "look inside" feature.(The tune "The Battle of the Somme" is mentioned in the book, but only as an example of a 9/8 retreat march. Nothing about its history).

Here's my attempt at Battle of the Somme - melody only. I'm still working on the left hand - hopefully will try it before the month is out. I've really enjoyed listening to the various renditions posted so far...so many talented people!

It's a tribute to Pipe Major Lawrie that he was able to compose such a fine tune after bearing the horrors of such a conflict.

I'm a bit confused here...weren't we saying earlier (Anahata?) that this wasn't written by the famous Pipe Major, but by another - just an ordinary bloke - who just also happened to be called William Laurie?

I'm not being pedantic for the sake of it, but, I have some thoughts of my own re. this tune - derived from experiences in my work - whose relevance would possibly be altered if we are not in fact talking about the composer as a guy who was wounded in the battle and died in hospital a few months later from his injuries.

It's a tribute to Pipe Major Lawrie that he was able to compose such a fine tune after bearing the horrors of such a conflict.

I'm a bit confused here...weren't we saying earlier (Anahata?) that this wasn't written by the famous Pipe Major, but by another - just an ordinary bloke - who just also happened to be called William Laurie?

I'm not being pedantic for the sake of it, but, I have some thoughts of my own re. this tune - derived from experiences in my work - whose relevance would possibly be altered if we are not in fact talking about the composer as a guy who was wounded in the battle and died in hospital a few months later from his injuries.

Diane

Diane,Not surprised you're confused here. You don't have the right story. There was an early post quoting Jack Campin on another website, who is usually a good source of historical information, but this time got it wrong. It was PM William Lawrie (or Laurie - same guy; they didn't seem too bothered by spelling back then). He didn't die of wounds, but of injuries. Best summary is the one I referred to a while back: http://www.pipetunes.ca/composers.asp?pg=Details&composerID=16.

DRUMKILBO

As Bill Young pointed to those obituaries and background of P/M Willie Lawrie, I was reminded of a radio programme I heard and recorded roundabout 1976 about Lawrie by a piping legend of that time, Seamus McNiell, and it also reminds me of the albeit small but somehow immense contribution that Lawrie made to piping in Scotland and Scottish Dance Bands right up to the present day and I'm sure for centuries to come. Apart from 'The Battle of the Somme' we still have what have become 'classic' 2/4 pipe marches by him that are hugely popular; Mrs. MacDonald of Dunacht, John MacDonald of Glencoe, Capt. Carswell, Pap of Glencoe [a pap is something that fits in a bra and if you see the hill that's named the Pap of Glencoe you'll understand by the shape o' it] and the slightly lesser known 'Braes O' Brecklet' and 'Duncan Johnston'. The various piping composers in Scotland gave us a wealth of material which is hugely popular to this day. Lawrie, Willie Ross, John MacColl, G.S. MacLennan, Donald McLeod, JohnMcLellan, Donald Shaw Ramsay, Peter McLeod et al. They all went through the Army and in a way the military preserved the standard of piping and highland dancing through the bleaker periods of our culture.The early pioneers of the melodeon in Scotland latched on to these pipe tunes and used them to great effect in their repertoire, the Wyper brothers, Will Hannah and of course Jimmy Shand, Will Starr etc.